THE MAGICAL WEB BRIDGE

Some books cast a magical spell on us right from the time we set our eyes on it ! Like a child we feel like touching the smooth papers, tracing the lovely illustrations and going back to the book repeatedly to find some new treasure. That's the way I feel about The Magical Web bridge ! This Katha publication is written by Geeta Dharmarajan and the art is by Sonali Biswas. (Pic Source : THE HINDU, Young World).

It is the story of a baya bird, his dreams and his focussed efforts to realise the dream. (The baya bird is a member of the weaver bird family) . The story starts with the baya bird trying to weave a perfect nest for his would be partner, with whom he hopes to share the rest of his life. The sincerity with which he builds the nest is reflected so beautifully in this line "He put a little prayer into every beautiful green he could find under the sun".

It mirrors my own belief that every significant task that we undertake in life, would definitely succeed if started with a small prayer to God.

The baya bird hears that on the other side of the sea also, there lived baya birds who made the best nests in the world. He wishes so earnestly to be able to weave a bridge across the sea, so that he could talk to his fellow friends. Soon the baya bird's tireless efforts at building the perfect nest pay off and the nest becomes the home to a proud mother and five little babies. Baya again becomes pre occupied with thoughts on how he could build the long distance bridge.

One day Baya chances on his soul mate, a spider. The spider too dreams of visiting a city yonder where the spiders make the most wonderful webs of silk. As Spider and Baya share their dreams, the Palm tree standing beside them ridcules their dreams as crazy. But thankfully Baya and Spider are not ones to be deterred off their path. They start planning the work on their dream bridge. As Baya and Spider start making long tubes of grass and spider silk, a long tunnel emerges. At one point of time when Spider finds the task to be getting difficult, Baya Ma (Baya's wife) lifts his spirits by saying nice and encouraging words. Even after the little birds fly away, Baya Ma stays behind to help with the nest. As the dream bridge slowlys transforms into a reality, even the Plam tree starts encouraging them. More and more of their friends join them to help in the completion.

As the bridge nears it's completion Baya Ma is plagued by separation anxiety. She wonders how she can leave her familiar nest and friends, to go to a new and unknown city across the sea. Baya and Spider chide her for not wanting to let go of the old things. When the fame of the beautiful bridge reaches the other side of the sea, birds and animlas of various kinds come over to admire this side's beauty ! Finally Baya fulfills his dream of building the most wonderful bridge in the world and reaching the other side.

The story is loaded with lots of messages for our little children. We can gradually bring these out in our reading times rather than all at once. The illustrations are as lovely as the story itself. The back ground hues of light brown through out(except for the blue on one page to illustrate the vast sea) and the vibrant pictures of the birds, spider, forest, flowers in the fore ground have a brilliant effect. To top it, the last two pages have very interesting information on the Avian architects of the world. A wonderful book to add to our collection of children's books !

The Red Tree

There are days when we feel extremely downcast and so lonely(run the Akon song here for effects!) that the whole world seems to pass us by. There is no hope in sight and days are dark and nights even darker. Anxiety and depression sets in and we keep wandering from one disaster to another. There almost seems to be no end for the depression. But, whenever there is a trough; there is always a peak near by.



This is the idea that is portrayed in this rather dark picture book by Shaun Tan called The Red Tree. A name less girl wakes up to find her room filled up with dry leaves which slowly envelope the whole room. She gets out and as she walks through the streets, there is a big crying fish that throws a dark shadow all over her. Every imagery that accompanies her through her journey is dark and poignant. We have no clue why there is always a great depressive mood hanging over her. But, it does not matter. Sometimes we get into depression for a rather small reason and sometimes the reasons are rather big. All we know in the illustrations is that the nameless girl is struck by a nameless / reasonless depression from which she is trying hard to get out. After a long wait, she returns back to her room to see a beautiful red tree blossoming right in front of her bed.



If you ever had a doubt that images can speak a thousand words; please stop by and pick up this book. One will be amazed by the brilliance of this young illustrator. Although this is a picture book, it is definitely not for our 5 year olds. It is more for young adults and people like us. It is the book that you may gift to a friend who is going through a rather tough time. Young children might not get it at all(or atleast that is what I think!).



Shaun Tan, the exemplary illustrator says the following about the book - The Red Tree



"I'd also been increasingly aware that illustration is a powerful way of expressing of feeling as well as ideas, partly because it is outside of verbal language, as many emotions can be hard to articulate in words. I thought it would therefore be interesting to produce an illustrated book that is all about feelings, unframed any storyline context, in some sense going ‘directly to the source’".


Aptly summarises this picture book.



ps: For more pictures/illustrations by Shaun Tan, check out the French site LaBoite Images , Lines and Colors and his own site.

Coming on Home Soon by Jacqueline Woodson;Illustrated by E.B.Lewis

Coming on Home Soon
Author: Jacqueline Woodson;
Illustrator: E.B.Lewis
Happy Mother's Day to all our mother readers!

In my earlier review of the book Mama's Saris, I had mentioned that the story begins as a little girl sitting on her mother's bed looks at a suticase full of her mother's saris, and they discuss the prospect of the little girl wearing a Sari for her seventh birthday. Well, the book I have picked to review here, "Coming On Home Soon" interestingly enough begins with a similar setting. A little girl is sitting on her Mama's bed and there's a suticase and there's Mama too. However, unlike Mama's Saris, the expressions on the faces of Mama and her daughter on the first page, seemed to convey that the story was going to be anything but a light read. If you notice the picture of the coverpage, it is that of a little girl and certainly conveys a sense of loneliness as she is looking sideways with a forlorn look on her face.

The story unfolds as a little girl named Ada Ruth watches her mother pack her suitcase as she is getting ready to leave for Chicago where they're hiring colored women since all the men are off fighting in the war. Mama has a tough decision to make and you could tell from the looks on Mama's face that she is not happy to leave her little girl and grandma behind. Mama tells her little girl, "I'm gonna head on up there." Mama leaves and Ada Ruth misses her while at the same time takes comfort from her grandmother's loving care and encouragement that Mama will be back soon.

Ada Ruth writes to her mother but does not hear back. Both grandma and Ada Ruth wait eagerly for Mama to come back while keeping up their daily routine. While trying to cope with the loneliness in their hearts due to Mama's absence, they find a stray kitten that arrives at their doorstep on a snowy morning, and decide to bring him inside to keep them company. Winter sets in, and one day, finally the long-awaited letter that Mama is "Coming On Home soon" arrives. That offers some relief to know that the story has a positive ending. The last page is wordless, and the final illustration reveals the image of Mama's back as she walks her way back through the snow - leaving the readers with a feel for the heartwarming reunion that would take place as soon as Mama walks in that door. What a tender and heartwarming story!

This Caldecott honor(2005) book,marvellously written and illustrated, so beautifully portrays the love and support that a mother, daughter and grandmother give one another during the troubled days of wartime. The story is set around an African American family.

Jacqueline Woodson's narrative is simple and aweinspiring - Some of my favorite lines include - "I watch the snow come down fast. Try hard to remember the way my mama smelled. Like sugar some days. And some days like sun. Some days like the lye soap that turned her hands yellow but got the wash real clean. I blink hard, but the tears still try to come."

The book is appropriate for school aged kids - from kindergarten to third grade. My daughter, who is entering kindergarten this fall, is yet to fully appreciate the underlying nuances/messages expressed in the story, as in, 1) the meaning of war 2) what it means to miss a loved one 3) that life is not the same for moms and children in every family etc. But, I am sure we will continue to read this book over and over in the coming years.

Free Fall

Hobbes (of Calvin and Hobbes) says - I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each others dreams, we can be together all the time.


Calvin always lives in his dreams or his dreams and real life overlap so much that there is hardly any demarcation between them. Calvin lives in a surrealistic world. Who knows? May be most of our kids live in a surreal world where their real life and dream life merge and intermingle. May be, we were like that during our young days and slowly lost ourselves completely to the real world.


A young boy falls asleep reading a book and drifts slowly and silently into the book. The book draws him into a glorious world as it travels through wide and varied landscape. Each page of the book takes him through one adventure after another. As he glides through the wide fields, he meets some the members of his chess game. The bishop comes out to greet him; while the rook and the knight keep a safe distance watching him. The bishop leads him to a gigantic castle guarded by iron-clad knights. The castle is a maze of steps and circles that could lead to anywhere. He goes along to greet the knight only to realise that one of the knights have turned into beautiful sea-birds. The pillars of the castle turn into massive trees and walls of the castle turn into dragon's sharp back. and so on.. goes the dream!



Well, so goes on the wonderful picture book called Free Fall by David Weisner. Another great wordless book; as he demonstrates the amazing creativity and boundary less nature of dreams. David Weisner depicts the fluid nature of the dreams with one dream after another merging in his wonderful paintings. There is so much of activity going on in each page of the book that one needs to spend at least a few minutes going through the minute details. Every page is a potential for the kid to make up his own story. Every time we browse through the illustrations, I end up finding something interesting.


It is a great reminder for us about the tremendous power of creativity and dreams - something that we tend to forget during our mundane day to day work.


As Marcel Proust says - "If a little dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, to dream all the time."


Dream on! and let your kids free to dream their own dreams!

Early Reader Books

Kelly of Big A Little a children's book blog with help from fellow kidlit bloggers has complied a list of early reader titles. Click here for the pdf version of the list that Kelly recommends you can also print, and carry with you to the library or bookstore.

These books can be helpful to preschoolers who are just starting to read - i.e. the 3 to 5 age group, and other kids in the 5 to 7 age group who are stepping into slightly advanced reading levels. Some of these books come in stages as in stage 1, 2, 3 etc. Most local libraries in the U.S. have a seperate aisle for books in the early reader category.

I am sure the list will serve as a great resource for parents looking to find early reader titles at their library and also, if there's a series that your kid particularly enjoys reading, these books can entice them to read more.

On a personal note, my daughter K who just turned five, has been reading quite a few early reader books the last year or so. Early reader books can be lot of fun for your kids if there are characters that they particularly enjoy reading as a series! In our family, we love Little Bear, Arthur, Frog and Toad, Biscuit series to mention a few.

Prita Goes To India

Prita Goes To India by Prodeepta Das

Suggested Ages: 4 to 8


Little Prita (age 7) and her sister Apa go to India with their parents. Prita narrates her experiences as she is writing down in her new holiday diary. They go to Orissa to visit some family and friends, and also travel around a little.

The book has many photos of her Indian relatives and their homes, the places Prita visits, and the things she sees, which to me was the attractive feature - rather than illustrations to show the same. Like, the trains, elephant, family kitchen with a meal being prepared, scooters, roadside stalls selling chai, paddy fields, beach, craftsmen making patchwork and pattachitras... all these photos bring the whole narration to life.

I found this at my public library and was interested in reading it to Ana, even though she is just a toddler. As we are planning to make a trip to India hopefully late this year, I was curious to see what Ana thinks of the people and the pictures in the book, to see if the photos make an impression on her. And they did!

Prita Goes to India is one of a series of photographic information books. The book gives a view of modern Indian life as well as a feel for how things are done differently, how everyday life goes on in villages and cities. Ana likes Prita, points her out by name in the book, and every time we've read it so far, she asks about the picture where Prita is drinking coconut water, and about the masks of Jagannath.

When I am looking for books these days, I keep in mind my seven year old niece and try to see if she'll enjoy reading it. This book fits the bill. My niece is about Prita's age, and has no idea about India, except the fact that her "Auntie Sheela" is from India and brings her Indian clothes and jewelry on and off :) I liked this book as it gently introduces food, clothes and customs of India through the eyes of a little girl who is growing up in a different country.

Thanks to Prita Goes To India, I can introduce two little kids in my life to the wonderful things that make India unique. Plus, as I have never been to Cuttack or Jalna, I enjoyed experiencing them through the photos and Prita's narration... As a bonus, there is a simple recipe at the back of the book for baras, and a glossary for easy look up of new terms.

Next on hold at the library is Shan-Yi Goes to China by Sungwan So and am quite eager to experience China the same way I experienced India in Prita Goes To India...

I am not sure if there are other books similar in concept that introduce kids to different states/regions of India: Prita meets her Ajini and Aai (grandpa and grandma); since Ana calls her maternal grandpa and grandma as Thaathaa and Thaathee (or Pattee), I am curious to see if there is something like Anjali Goes To Madras (Chennai), where Anjali happens to travel all over Tamil Nadu and record her experience...

Down the line for me is the Child's Day series of books, covering many countries including Vietnam, Lapland, Ghana, Egypt as well as India... and, while browsing for similar books, I found Frances Lincoln publishers to have a wonderful collection.

Being the first in a series of country books I am planning to read to Ana, I am inclined to give it four bindis, but, I would like to hold off until I read Geeta's Day by Prodeepta Das in the Child's Day series and come back and settle on a rating for this.

Look, the Moon!

Author: Sandhya Rao
Illustrator: Trotsky Marudu
Published by: Tulika
Ages: 0-3

I am now the proud owner of three Tulika books! After reading many rave reviews on this site about Tulika, I was very curious to get my hands on them. So on my recent India trip, I called up their main office and found out two of their popular retailers in Chennai were Landmark and Odyssey(Adyar), the latter being the closest in distance to my in-laws. Odyssey has an impressive collection of childrens' books. But, it was first a little hard to find Tulika and sadly, none of the sales people I talked to had even heard of it. After a little hunt, I found them tucked away in a corner wall in the kindergarten section. It was tempting to grab the entire cubby hole of Tulikas - but once I overcame greed, I picked out two bilinguals and Look, the Moon!. My son absolutely adores the last one, which makes the purchase worthwhile.

Look, the Moon! is a simple soother that celebrates the phases of the moon. I picked this book because my son is in a so-in-love-with-moon phase, and certainly the Sandhya Rao-Trotsky Marudu team did not disappoint him in feeding to that obsession. Rao's free-flowing verse
is charming, and has an effect of a soothing lullaby. Using words like "slice" and "comma", she describes in first person how the moon progressively grows to completion. But does it stay that way? That is what the second half of the book covers.

Marudu's stunning art lifts the book up from run of the mill to one of a kind.

What stood out for me was his depiction of the night sky. One could paint it pitch black with a few white star shapes or one could color it like Marudu does. With shades of midnight blue and black, and varying sized dots for stars, it is a lot more realistic sky. Better yet, it is as close to how a kid armed with color pencils and construction paper would portray the darkness.

What else I loved about this book...
*A lot of Tulika picture books are designed this way - where you can flip the pages and watch the images move for an animation effect. Look, the Moon! is the right kind of book for that as you can see the moon grow in the first half of the book. Very neat way to amuse a toddler!
*I liked that the lines didn't always rhyme, but still maintained a rhythm. This made the book mimic a natural monologue.
*Although the book doesn't claim to do this, I think it would be a great tool to talk about shapes.

What I would have liked to see...
* Although the blurb claims it is for the 3 year and above crowd, it seemed to me that the text and theme would appeal more to the 1-4 age group. For that age, books are handled roughly and publishing with a bound cover would make it more durable.
* Along the same lines, the book was wider than it was tall. Reducing the size to fit it better in tiny hands would make the flipping easier.
* The book ends on a positive note and the very last page is a magnificient spread of the night sky. Here, I would have liked to see the full moon one last time to reiterate what the verse promised.

Last word: A very good bedtime read, especially for those kids who are in awe of the moon.

Rating: 4 bindis.